Amber Meets Sapphire
by Mizuinu
Summary: SO4 Arumat/Myuria A what if story taking place in the time our heroes spend on EN II. What happens when you get too sentimentally involved with someone who could die very soon? COMPLETE! *SEQUEL POSTED*
1. Vulnerable

**A/N**: I'm royally pissed! There's no Arumat fanfictions ANYWHERE! Well I might as well make one myself. Here we go!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Star Ocean. If I did, SO3's main character woulda been Albel and Nel would've ended up with him :} tee-hee! 3

**Pairings**: Arumat/Myuria, possible appearance of Edge/Reimi if asked for.

**Warning**: I haven't finished the games so there's many things I don't know, so don't flame if I get something wrong ^^ purdy plz?

**Time Zone**: little after arriving at EN II for the first time.

**Chapter One – Vulnerable**

It was a regular old night in the Calnus. Well what you could consider night in a ship. It was decided by Reimi that the ships lights would be dimmed every 12 hours, for 12 hours, for the benefit of every crewmember's healthy sleep. The darkness of the ship allowed them to relax and consider it a sort of night time and head for bed.

A certain silver haired eldarian wondered the darkened recreational area. His face scrunched up in pain, he rested his aching muscles on one of the nearby benches.

'… The pain gets worst every day…' Arumat relaxed onto the soft bench, staring at the star ocean as the Calnus soared thru its void. The light blue stars blinking at his eyes gently.

His amber eyes begged him for some rest as the soft couch beckoned the goddess of sleep to take the battle god with her.

Arumat dared to let his guard down in the ship. Something he rarely ever did. He would never dare say it, but the warmth of the rather odd group of the Calnus gave him a great sense of trust. One he'd never had for anyone other than Crowe in his whole life.

"This crew sure is rubbing off on me…" His soft whisper was swallowed by the silence as he turned his trusty laser scythe off and laid it on the floor beside him as his eyes closed and he allowed himself some well deserved sleep.

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"Lucien!" Myuria woke up with a start. The same nightmare that always plagued her had come to visit once more. The death of her deceased husband was fresh in her mind.

"Guess I won't sleep much tonight…" She rubbed her forehead as she moved to wake up. Edge had helped her move on with her life, whether he had meant it or not, but she still loved her husband. The boy tried very hard to maintain his crew happy but she knew he only had eyes for his childhood friend. Not to mention he was far too inexperienced as a man to even begin to interest her.

Trying to get some air, she walked all over the Calnus until she reached the recreational area where she noticed a very still head of silver. Out of curiosity she approached the man known as Death incarnate.

"Hey, what are you doing up so-" She stopped short when she finally reached him and saw the man sound asleep. His head was cushioned by the arm-rest while his body lay sprawled all over the couch. She couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her lips at the thought of the ever alert man so unashamedly letting his guard down enough to sleep. And sleep so deeply that he would not wake up with the sound of her voice.

She studied him closely. Strong arms folded in front of his chest for warmth, his chest rose and fell with his even breathing, one leg on the second arm-rest of the couch while the other "half stood" on the floor and his lips parted slightly. He was a sight to behold. Myuria couldn't miss the rare opportunity of taking advantage of a much unguarded Arumat. So she sat down beside his chest and softly brushed the hair off of his face, revealing the part of his face no one saw. She was disappointed to find, there was nothing mysteriously hidden behind his bangs. So she gained nothing of taking advantage of the situation. She felt rather childish, for even trying to find a secret about the man. Sure he was silent, but so far he had not kept a secret from them. Even when Bachuss had found out about his affliction he hadn't bothered to deny it.

She smiled; the man was a very dedicated one. He'd rather die than give up on his mission, or his life-style, or his team.

Her brow knitted softly in worry as she saw his eyes scrunch up in pain for a few seconds.

"It's getting worse every day isn't it…?" she whispered at the sleeping man. She rubbed his right arm, the way a friend would when you're in pain. This made his eyes soften slowly and he released a soft sigh. His face relaxed once more.

She couldn't help but worry about his well being. After all, he was one of the 'family' now.

Family.

She had longed for one with Lucien for so long. She sighed as his memory once more flooded her senses. She shook her head; Lucien wouldn't want her to mourn his death forever. She needed to move on, to be happy, that was Lucien's final wish.

A soft grunt brought her back to reality. Arumat's whole face was scrunched up in pain this time. His whole body was tense and his left arm now gripped his right side.

She wondered for a second if a healing symbol would help him out. She quickly thought about the symbol and placed her hand on the side where he was currently gripping himself. A soft light brightened the room for a few seconds and Arumat's face slowly relaxed once more. But this time his eyebrows remained knitted in exhaustion. The poor man looked more drained of energy than what he was supposed to have slept. Some beads of sweat now slid down his neck and forehead.

Myuria's worry increased by the minute.

'Is this man gonna die on me…?' She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and softly wiped away the sweat off his face and neck.

His exhaustion and pain had brought him a little closer to reality and he could now notice the soft cloth being rubbed on his skin. Amber eyes softly opened and met sapphire. Myuria smiled at the man in front of her as he woke up.

"Having a rough sleep, huh?" The amber eyed man could only grunt an affirmative. Far too tired and far too sleepy to talk, and his throat seemed too dry to open.

"Why'd you decide to sleep here?" Arumat looked up and remembered where he had dozed off. His eyes shut and he shrugged his shoulders slightly.

Arumat didn't seem to particularly mind that she was sitting on what little was left of the couch. Nor that she was squeezing him a bit against the couch because of this, nor the fact that she was slightly leaning on his chest after having finished her symbol. He was simply too tired. And he somehow knew she had relieved him of his pain. Anyone who helped him out on that one without disabling him from fighting had his respect. He appreciated the care Edge and Bachuss had wasted on trying to convince him to go to EN II and get treated, but he would fight till his very last breath.

She noticed his lack of interest for personal space and smirked a bit as an idea popped in her head.

She leaned in fully on top of his chest as she softly pressed her lips onto his. His eyes softly opened and she ended the nearly inexistent moment. His head was too exhausted to register what just happened. So he settled for staring at her in bewilderment.

She smiled softly at his response. She thought back to when she was about to kiss Edge. She was glad she didn't, the boy wouda probably blushed and blundered.

This man was different; he was certainly a lot more mature, and a lot less wanted by other women.

She closed the gap between their lips once more and this time he responded, rather weakly, as the little energy he had left was quickly being depleted. The chaste kiss ended quickly once more, almost as if they were shy. It took everything he had in him to keep his eyes slightly open. She chuckled softly and closed his eyes gently with her hand. He sighed and quickly fell prey to his exhaustion.

Myuria smiled and stood up quickly making her way to her room and taking a few sheets and walking back towards the sleeping man in the recreation room. She covered him up with a few blankets. She couldn't help but smile once more while staring at the man. Who woulda thought the rough and cold looking man would have such warm lips? She leaned down and stole yet another kiss from the silver haired Eldarian and quickly retreated to her room.

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What will Arumat's response be when he wakes up and realizes what he did and what was done to him while he had left his guard down?!

Stay tuned if you wanna find out! :3

Read and review!!! :3 I'm thinking up another chapter already. However, I'll allow you all to influence me! :D So if you have any suggestions please do post em in your review :o

My second story on ^-^ You know I was seriously considering making an Arumat/Sarah story just for the kick of having the irony of placing an Angel with a god of Death. But she's just too dumb -_-; I would be irritated by her naiveness. Myuria seems like a suitable couple. She's so forward she could probably get something outta him.


	2. Puzzling

_Disclaimer_: read the first page.

**A/N: FIXED this chapter because I DIDN'T LIKE IT.**

**Chapter 2 - Puzzling**

'Night' passed and to everyone's surprise Arumat continued to sleep soundly in the couch of the recreation room. Bachuss kindly and quickly analyzed the sleeping man's condition. Seeing as his energy levels were still quite low and his muscle tissue seemed strained he suggested to Edge that they leave the recreational area empty and dimly lit.

At what would've been mid day on the ship was when Arumat finally woke up. He was surprised by the fact that his eyes weren't stung by the bright lights of the vessel or that his sensitive long ears weren't bothered by any of the louder of his companions. Instead he met a pleasant darkness and a comfortable silence. The only things he felt were a bit off were the warmth that enveloped his body and the semi heavy weight spread on his chest and stomach. He looked down to see a deeply asleep Meracle.

'I'd overheard the fuss about this one sneaking into people's bed for warmth… but seriously…' The amber eyed Eldarian remembered the short event of a few hours ago and was deeply vexed that already two people had taken advantage of his moments of vulnerability but he wasn't mean enough to send the sleeping girl flying out the window of the Calnus and into outer space in anger.

He sighed and sat up, scooping up the small cat-girl in his arms and quietly started his trek up to her room.

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Arumat laid Meracle down on her bed gently and wrapped her up in one of the two blankets that Myuria had previously wrapped him in for the night. When he was done tucking in the little girl he turned around to see the aforementioned woman sleeping in the bed at the other side of the room. Apparently she had been unable to sleep the night before. He noted with disdain that she had given him all her blankets and now slept bare to the cold of the ship. He took the remaining blanket and lightly tossed it over the sleeping morphus. He stared at Myuria for a few seconds before muttering a quiet 'thanks' and left the room as silently as he had entered.

Arumat wondered the quiet corridors of the Calnus. His steps softly echoing through the silent spacecraft, his mind started to wonder. A lot of things were happening at the same time in the universe and his own life and his disease was slowly eating away at his soul.

'How much more time do I have left…?' He shook his head and stared off ahead. 'It doesn't matter. The only thing I need to know is my mission. I will defeat the grigori and protect the universe. The phantoms _will_ pay dearly for what they did to Eldar and my brethren. I will not succumb to eternal slumber until my revenge has been fulfilled…'

And so, with newly restored conviction he headed into the battle simulator for some much needed stress relief.

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Myuria woke up feeling much warmer than she did when she first went to bed. She also noted with slight amusement that said warmth also smelled of a certain man she had kissed the night before. She sat up and hugged the warm blankets to herself. The scent was soft and it smelled of sweet spices and pinecone. She found herself blushing when she realized what she was doing and angrily growled at herself.

'The heck is wrong with me? I'm not a school girl anymore…' She briefly wondered if maybe she would regret having kissed the silver haired eldarian.

Myuria heard the faintest 'swishy-swooshy' sound, as Lymle would put it. She stood up and followed the sounds to its source and smoothly made her way to the battle simulator. When she entered she was met by the sight of a very agitated Arumat ripping and slashing at clones generated by the simulator.

His muscles rippled and tensed as he strained them to make a Diabolical Edge that pushed his clone backwards several times and shredded it to pieces in four easy steps. Or what would be an easy move to the battle god. Step by step he spiraled the Laser Scythe into his enemy. Myuria could only imagine the mess that would leave if it were a real enemy. The deadly grace this man carried was enough to make a grown man cower in fear and cry for dear life. But Myuria had trusted this man with her life. He had already proven on the battle field that he would protect them all. She realized it was probably because of the many comrades he had lost. She could understand the pain of being the only one to survive a deadly situation… seeing as she had gone through it.

"Are you done watching?" His rough voice interrupted her from her musings and she quickly recovered.

"I can't help but admire a good fighter" She smirked and walked towards him. The man hadn't even broken into a sweat from the battle simulator's effort of training.

"Admire? Or waiting for the next chance I let my guard down?" His voice sounded irked and his face showed slight anger, but she could tell a storm was brewing inside his eyes. His usually confident aura was now turmoil of confusion.

"Oh please, you didn't seem to mind at the time." She stared at him in the eye for a few seconds then shook her head; the man obviously needed time to figure out whatever was on his mind. She had new suspicions about the man. The way his actions contradicted his attitude indicated that there was more than met the eye with him. So she would study him, like the morphus she is. Morphus had always been keen to analyzing everything. Myuria was deeply intrigued by the mysterious man and in a sense that attracted her to him. The event that had occurred the night before had kindled a fire inside her for the man that she only had begun to understand. She could not say that it was love, or that she even liked him, but she would definitely wait and see.

"What?" Arumat's irate voice reached her ears once more and she realized she was staring at him.

She turned on her foot and started her trek out of the battle simulator.

Arumat was surprised to see her suddenly turn and leave. He briefly wondered what the look she had gotten in her eyes meant. Her sapphire eyes had been filled with curiosity and warmth that seemed to welcome him. But then he realized; he never countered her when she said he hadn't minded the kisses. A low feral growl vibrated through his throat as he realized he'd made a fool out of himself. Or did he?

'I kissed her back…' he berated himself. For having reacted in such a puzzling way. He had no feelings for the woman so why would he kiss back?

'It was…' Arumat's eyes softened and he rubbed his side where Myuria had previously attempted to use a healing symbol to ease his pain. 'No one had ever…'

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More coming your way, R&R.


	3. Adrenaline

**A/N**: Woooh i write more than i post XD ill let you guysknow , i already made chapter 6, so unless i see some reviews, hmm wont be updating much. :p

**Chapter 3 - Adrenaline**

The time to talk to 'Ex' came and the whole gang headed for the center of EN II. After the odd talk with the strange being the group headed off to the sanctuary in hopes of defending EN II's sacred place.

Arumat held his scythe close to him and at the ready. His keen ears alert for any signs of trouble. The whole group was tense as they made their way through the dark corridors. Edge lead them to what he thought would be a safer pass until they turned a corner and came to see the back of what looked like a ghost with a skull for a head and a red huge scythe on its bony hands. Arumat grinned at the ghost's choice of weapon.

He stepped in front of the group. "Lad," The man spared his leader a quick glance.

"What is it Arumat?" Edge could see the fighter's strong desire for action.

"I wish to fight this one on my own" Arumat gripped his scythe tight and assumed his battle stance.

Edge stared at the ghost's back for a few seconds before sighing. "Alright. But if anything goes wrong we'll have to butt in"

The Death god grinned wide and stretched his right leg forward, getting ready for a dash. "Don't worry, you won't have to." And with that, the mighty fighter lunged for his enemy and as soon as he was but a few feet from it he pushed his scythe into an upward diagonal slash from left to right. The ghost shrieked in pain as the Laser Scythe shredded its tattered cloak and the bones that composed it's 'body'. Arumat used the momentum of the upward slice to spiral the scythe back to himself and into another upward diagonal scythe for an inverted Diabolical Edge. He found the extra strain of the counter-gravity movement a better exercise for his battle-needy muscles. The ghost didn't stand a chance for as soon as the third upward slash hit him it disintegrated into nothing.

Arumat stopped the momentum of his scythe with his right palm and soon after relaxed his battle stance. His grin quickly turned into a scowl in disappointment.

Meracle jumped up and down in excitement and shouted. "Way to go Arumat! Meow!" She proceeded to hugging his waist and jumping around him. "meow-meow-mew-mew-meow!"

Myuria quickly noticed the scowl on his face. "Something wrong hot-shot? You seemed so excited a few seconds ago" She had an idea of what was bothering him but she wanted to see how well she could read him.

"I expected more of a challenge… Guess it was too much to ask" She hit the mark. Arumat turned around to stare at his leader to see what the next move would be.

"Well Arumat sure made quick work out of that without a hint of trouble. So if all of us work together none of the monsters here should pose to be any trouble." Edge had been stressing over the difficulty of the monsters in the area and was relieved to find he had worried for nothing. If one of his team mates could handle one of the creatures alone it would pose no problem for the rest of the team and he considered his choices.

Edge held his chin and supported his arm with the other in a thoughtful expression. "Hmm…Well…" He straightened up and nodded to himself, smiling. "Since the fiends here pose no problem and we need to find the right way to go, fast, we'll be splitting into groups of two. Anyone object?" All of his faithful team smiled and shook their heads. Arumat settled for smiling.

"Alright! The teams will be…" Edge considered his options carefully. Four of his team mates could heal and the other four could not. The pairs would be based on this. Edge wanted to make sure Reimi was safe so he would take it upon himself to protect her. Not to mention she wasn't a front field damage dealer, so she needed him, who was the only front field healer.

"I want to go with Bachie!" Lymle had already climbed onto Bachuss's arm as if the decision was made. Edge could help but chuckle a bit. Out of the four fighters, consisting of Reimi, Arumat, Bachuss and Meracle, he knew the cat would need the heaviest healer.

He cringed at the decision of couples he had to make. "Sarah?"

The kind featherfolk bowed to her leader and smiled warmly at him. "Yes, Edge?"

"I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to accompany Meracle" He scratched his head sheepishly. Meracle was slightly drooling and a huge knife and fork magically appeared in her hands.

Sarah's feathery wings shook in fear but nonetheless she bowed once more and smiled at her leader. "I-if that is your decision…"

Edge gave Meracle a stern look and she quickly hid her utensils. "Mew-meow!"

"Meracle, I want you to protect Sarah for me, okay? I trust you with this one." He gave the kitty-girl a fond look and petted her head gently.

Her eyes got a shiny glow to them at Edge's words and her face took on a determined look. "You can count on me Edge!" At this, Sarah breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"I guess you get your wish Lymle. You're going with Bachuss." Lymle cheered at the height of Bachuss's arm. The offensive healer was a good combination for the rather sturdy but hardly offensive Cyborg. "Reimi, you're going with me."

At this, said girl smiled and nodded her head at her childhood friend. "No problem with that Edge." Edge smiled back at her.

"That leaves Arumat and Myuria as the last team. You two okay with that?" He looked expectantly at the more mature party members.

"Don't worry, boy. You're the leader, it's your say." Myuria smiled at the kind hearted young man. Arumat just grunted his agreement.

"Alright. Welch made these for us a little while ago." He took out a variety of small ear-pieces. They all had different colors and shapes. "We'll communicate with these. Some of them are specifically made for the sensitivity and shape of each ear. I'm sure you've got the most sensitive ears Meracle." At this the young girl grinned and nodded her head. Edge picked out the biggest of the devices, which was the blue one. It was made with such a size so as not to be swallowed by the rather large ear canal of the cat-girl. "Here you go Meracle." Said cat-girl quickly took the device and plugged it in her ear.

"I believe the pink one is for you Myuria." He gave the diagonally shaped ear piece to the morphus and it fitted her oddly shaped ear perfectly.

"Arumat, could you give me one of those… things you got on your ears?" Arumat swiftly detached the odd trinket off his ear and tossed it at Edge.

"They're called studs… I guess they're only used in Eldar" No one dared question eldarian's odd sense of fashion. They're previous eldarian had also worn similar 'studs' on his ears. Myuria noticed vaguely that his eldarian ears weren't much different from her morphus ones, they weren't as long as hers but they were indeed longer than the earthling's and they were closer to the head and more upward pointing than hers.

Edge quickly attached the red and smallest ear piece to the inside of the stud and gave it back to the silver haired man. "Here you go." Arumat replaced the stud on his ear and was relieved to find the ear piece didn't intrude too much in his ear.

"Lymle, Reimi, Sarah and I have very similar ears so we just use regular old Earth-made ear-pieces. Bachuss, I'm sure you can synchronize with all the ear-pieces?" Edge proceeded to handing said ear-pieces to the remaining companions.

"Indeed, Mr. Edge" The 'Steel Giant' quickly opened a system screen that floated above his arm and swiftly synchronized his internal communications system with the simple ear-pieces.

"Alright, team! We're all set. Team MS, you girls go East of here." Sarah and Meracle nodded their heads. "Team BL, you two head South" Bachuss nodded his head while Lymle thrusted her club into the air. "Team ER, We'll be heading West." Reimi bowed and got her bow ready. "Team AM, you guys head North" Arumat grunted his agreement once more while Myuria smirked. "Okay people let's split!"

The merry group splitted into the aforementioned teams and disappeared into the dark corridors; each one of them with hope in their hearts that they would get to see their friends once again.

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What challenges does the road to the sanctuary hold for our teams? Stay tuned and find out ^^

R&R


	4. Protect

Mew! I'm so happy i got a few reviews! It makes me so happy! T.T But this means i have a lot of pressure on :s can't mess up on this one. On with the show!.

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**Chapter 4 - Protect**

Team 'AM', as they had been dubbed, walked in silence through the stone halls. Myuria wasn't the most 'chatty' person in the world, but the silence was agonizingly long.

"You're not much of a talker are you?" it wasn't a question. It was a statement. Arumat glanced at her and continued his trek. The path seemed to get even darker. Myuria started to get nervous, the growing darkness giving way to the possibility of an ambush, but nonetheless stood her ground.

Then all of a sudden, a spider crawled up her leg. Myuria shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"GET IT OFF!!! GET IT OFF!!! GET IT OOOOOOFF!" She attached herself to a very frustrated Arumat as she shook her leg for all she was worth.

"Quiet, woman!" Arumat held said woman close to him and with one gloved hand caught the offending critter. "There, do you really have to make such a racket over a critter?" The Eldarian looked around in every direction possible, he was sure the noise would attract monsters, fast.

"Well excuse me for not wanting it to crawl up my clothes." Myuria huffed indignantly.

"Or rather lack of…" Arumat couldn't help but smirk. The woman's choice for clothing really didn't make people's life easy when it came to being respectful towards her. You know, staring at the wrong place. But as he had seen so far on EN II, that seemed to be the most common choice of clothing. Myuria blushed at this. However she didn't miss the fact that the man hadn't let go of her… and didn't seem about to do so any moment soon either. A crackling noise distracted her from this fact though.

Arumat let go of Myuria and quickly took his battle stance, his eyes scanning once more the area for the strange sound. Myuria casted 'Enlighten' on herself as soon as she stood up. The crackling noise got louder and louder, and started to come from all directions. Soon the place was lit by sparks. What seemed to be zombies charged with electricity now surrounded the duo and they started closing in.

"Heh. There's quite a few of them, I presume we're getting closer to the sanctuary" Myuria quickly started casting a Void spell on the fiends in case they had any enhancing spells while Arumat dashed into the mob of undead and slashed all around with his scythe, the corpses fell to the floor in a heap around him. The excitement of another battle lit up his amber eyes as he sliced and shredded through his enemies. But more and more of them kept appearing. Myuria casted 'Wind Blades' as she couldn't use her best lightning spells since they would heal the fiends. Arumat kept making quick work of the foul smelling corpses. The scent was of acrid burnt meat, but the battle god ignored it in favor of the excuse of using his muscles for battle.

"Argh! How many more of these are going to keep coming at us?!" Myuria was frustrated, she wasn't the best at wind spells and had to settle for using Deep Freeze.

"I don't know and I really don't care! The more the better!!!" Arumat grinned as he sliced thru yet another corpse and moved on to the next.

"Easy for you to say! You don't use any elements on your scythe!" Myuria glared at the Eldarian's back and gasped. "Arumat, watch out!"

But it was too late. Half of a body still lit with electricity grabbed at Arumat's ankle, successfully electrocuting him. The Eldarian kicked the zombie in the face and shook it off, but by that time, all the other zombies had closed in on him and Arumat was electrocuted by all of them at the same time.

"Arumat!!!" Myuria casted Ice Needles on all the zombies that were gripping at Arumat, careful not to hit him and they let go of him. She readied another 'Wind Blade'. "Get down!" Arumat did as he was told and the spell blasted over him, taking with it all zombies that surrounded him. Myuria ran towards Arumat and crouched beside him.

Arumat moved to stand up but gasped and fell back down. Myuria thought that was funny, because these enemies were actually really weak and she'd expect the few shocks to be pretty close to nothing to the man.

"What's wrong with you? Get up!" She grabbed his arm and tried to help him up, to no avail. The man was too heavy and she was getting desperate, the fiends were closing in on them again.

"It's…my body…ungh!" Arumat fell back down on the floor and hardly moved. "The shock…must've… accelerated my..." She understood and held a finger to his lips. He cringed as his body rippled with cramps.

Myuria casted a softer version of her 'Thunder Flare' around them. It would heal the fiends but it would keep them at bay. She reached for her ear-piece.

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Edge and Reimi walked down the halls carefully. Danger could be on any corner and they could hear strange sounds everywhere. Edge stopped Reimi for a sec as he heard loud and heavy steps coming their way.

"What do you think it is?" Reimi whispered as she readied her bow and stayed close to Edge.

"Probably one of those golems we saw earlier." He readied himself for battle and jumped out of the corner with a battle cry. His blade clashed with hard metal and he found himself face to face with a cannon the size of his face. Edge sweat dropped.

"Bachuss, wait! It's us!" Reimi, who had a better view of their opponent, shouted from afar. Said Morphus retrieved his cannon from their companion's face.

"Ah, forgive me Mr. Edge, I should've known it was you two." Lymle approached from behind Bachuss, Cerberus close on her heels.

"No worries Bachuss, atleast none of us are hurt. This also means our roads have ended, we'll have to wait and see the other two teams reports… or catch up to them." Edge smiled at the kind man, but quickly lost his pleasant mood.

"Team AM requesting support!" Myuria's voice reached his ears.

"What is it Myuria?" Edge covered his ear to hear her better.

"Arumat is down and we're surrounded by electricity charged zombies!" Her desperation was evident in her voice.

"What?! Arumat's down?! How's that even possible?!" The man had dispatched a stronger monster with ease but a few hours ago. How could he fall to weaker ones?

"It's his sickness! He was shocked by them and he says it must've accelerated it! Please come quickly! We won't last much longer!" She was now yelling in frustration.

"No, it wouldn't accelerate it; rather his afflicted muscles are only reacting to the excess of energy caused by the electricity. If an average man were to be shocked in such a way he would have spasms all over their body but only for a few seconds, his afflicted muscles seem to prolong this time." Bachuss informed the team as briefly as he could.

"I really don't care about the details right now Bachuss! Hurry your asses back here and help us!" Myuria sounded infuriated.

"Ok we'll get there as soon as we can Myuria, just hold on!" Edge reassured the female Morphus. "Bachuss, can you see where they are?"

Bachuss quickly made a digital map of the paths they had walked and nodded his head. "We'll go back the way we came and then follow their footprints to them"

"Okay people let's hurry!" With that, the foursome dashed to the rescue of their friends.

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She turned Arumat so that his face wasn't on the floor anymore and held him close, rubbing his arms gently to ease the pain as best as she could. Holding her staff up to keep the spell in progress, she could feel the man trembling in pain and gasping for air. She wished she could try the healing symbol on him again, but the situation was that if she did, their defenses would drop and they would really be done for. So far her little barrier trick seemed to keep them at bay; the zombies entertained themselves with the lightning barrier, absorbing it as much as they could. It creeped her out. She held Arumat closer and closed her eyes, wondering how much longer she could keep the barrier up.

Arumat felt pitiful, and he hated it, it hurt to even try to move his muscles and pain rippled all over his body. He was useless, and he ended up having to be protected by the one he was commanded to protect. The though irked him further. Then he realized how tightly Myuria was holding him.

"Myu…ria…?" She looked up at his eyes and saw that he was genuinely worried. She smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine" She smiled at him and he scoffed.

"I know… I'll be fine… I'm more… worried about you." His voice was forced but he still grinned at her.

Myuria couldn't help but laugh. Even in such a predicament, the man dared be confident and even cocky about his abilities. His eyes softened as he heard her short laugh. He felt the goddess of sleep calling for him but he refused her. Instead, he started to sit up, despite his still cramping and protesting body and grabbed his scythe. Myuria's amusement was short lived. "What do you think you're doing?" She looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"What… do you think? I'm… gonna do my job." He opened the extra blades of his scythe. "Duck." She didn't have time to ask why as he thrust his scythe thru the 'Thunder Flare', effectively electrocuting himself again and with a deafening battle roar he performed the biggest Unholy Maelstrom he had ever done, charging his scythe with all the energy he had left plus the channeled energy from the 'Thunder Flare' that currently coursed his body made for a gigantic scythe blade that effectively wiped the room and slashed at the walls with the fiends in what could be called a hurricane of blades.

Myuria dropped the spell as fast as she could, trying to stop his lunacy, but was far too late. When Arumat saw that the coast was finally clear he let his body plummet to the floor. He expected to meet the hard floor but instead he felt two arms catch him and hold him tight. His neck was held by the apex of Myuria's elbow and his back was supported by her lap. His face was scrunched up in pain as new waves of cramps coursed through him. Myuria heard some rustling and quickly smacked the hand of a zombie that refused to die with her staff. It finally stopped. She sighed in relief. She looked back at Arumat and saw that his cramps were starting to slow. She lifted his head closer to her so that he could rest against her shoulder then proceeded to scratching and massaging his scalp gently to distract him from the pain. He sighed and relaxed a bit despite the cramps. Her touch also seemed to make them less painful. Myuria rested her forehead against his and looked at him sadly. His own eyes opened a bit to look at her and she felt unable to look at him in the eye.

"I'm sorry… if I'd had noticed earlier maybe this wouldn't have happened…" Arumat sighed and closed his eyes, when he opened them again he saw that tears were welling up in her eyes. His face cringed at the thought of having to talk to reassure her and so he settled for an easier way of making her feel better.

He kissed her.

Myuria was shocked, to say the least. She honestly didn't expect him to just kiss her, much less in a moment like this.

Arumat couldn't push himself up for much longer than a few seconds and quickly succumbed to his exhaustion, letting go of her sweet lips. Myuria was so stunned she almost forgot she was supposed to hold him up. Arumat cringed at the thought of a concussion as his head was hairs away from the floor when she had finally reacted. She sighed in relief and safely laid his head on her lap for avoiding another one like that. He looked up at her eyes and was relieved to find nothing but understanding in her sapphire eyes. He had to admit, he enjoyed the kiss far more than he thought he would. The woman cared for him more than anyone ever had and he accepted her tender caring without protest.

Arumat's eyes closed slowly as the goddess of sleep begged him ever more to succumb to her realm and he finally gave up, but not before muttering something to the woman that had fervently protected him when he was unable to fight. "… Myuria…"

Her ears twitched slightly at the sound of her name. "What is it..?" She caressed the fading man's cheek fondly as his amber eyes slowly disappeared behind his eyelids.

"Thank You…" His eyes finally closed and he let lady sleep take him away.

"For what…?" She listened intently but he didn't utter another word. She sighed and thought she'd ask him later. For now she thought she'd return the kiss he didn't let her respond to. And with a mischievous smile on her face she kissed the sleeping man's lips once more.

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Yummmmmmm. Personaly, i like the next chapter even better, but im gonna let you guys review before i post it. MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!

ooo Love is in the air...


	5. Survival

**A/N**: All give thanx to Final Hikari for his/her support! ^.^ I've posted this chappie early thanx to thee :3 On with the show!

**Chapter - Survival**

The team of four rushed to find their friends as fast as they could. They saw bits and pieces of corpses all over the floor, as they went in further they saw even gaps on the walls that suggested something very big sliced through them. They followed the slashes on the walls until they came to a four-way split where Myuria sat in the middle with a soundly sleeping Arumat. She was caressing his hair fondly and they feared the worst.

"Myuria…" Edge approached her slowly. "Is he…?"

Myuria smiled a tired smile and shook her head. "He'll be fine; I've wasted all my energy healing the idiot."

Everyone sighed in relief and quickly crowded around his sleeping form. "Mrs. Myuria, you should have some of these" Bacchus kindly offered some blackberries to the exhausted Morphus and she gladly accepted them.

"What happened to Mattie?" Lymle looked worriedly at the Eldarian. Myuria chuckled a bit at the nickname.

"He's very tired, Lymle. He wasted all his strength doing those." She pointed at the extremely deep slices on all the walls surrounding them. "I guess he thought that was the only way we could survive this onslaught. And by the looks of it" She shot a disappointed look towards Edge. "It seems he was right."

Edge's eyes widened at the thought of that terrible damage coming from their comrade. But he still noticed the look she gave him. "Myuria… I'm sorry we didn't make it here fast enough…but…how did Arumat do this? I thought you said he was down."

Myuria smiled sadly and shook her head. "You could say he had a little of my help… but long story short, he pushed himself to his limits as he used the energy of one my spells and all off his own to make one of his infamous 'Unholy Maelstroms'." Edge nodded in understanding. The respect he already had for the man grew ever more. But they needed to move on.

"We need to wake him up" At Edge's words Myuria's reaction was to hold the sleeping man closer to her and covered his ear from any possible noises.

"Absolutely. Not." Myuria's fiery glare took Edge aback. Bacchus stepped in.

"I've scanned Sir Arumat's condition and I found that he requires a good amount of rest for him to recover, Mr. Edge. It won't do him or any of us any good if he fights in his current state. However, it is a pressing matter that we move on in order to save En II. I request that I'm allowed to carry him for the rest of the explorations of this road as I am the only one that can carry his weight without trouble and my suspensions should make the trek comfortable enough for him to remain asleep." Edge looked at Bacchus and had no option but to agree. The cyborg moved to pick up the tired man but before letting go of him Myuria landed a soft kiss on Arumat's forehead. This did not go unnoticed by the rest of the team. "Do not worry Miss Myuria. I will make sure he recovers successfully." Myuria smiled warmly at the cyborg and nodded.

"You better. That man nearly sacrificed his own life to save mine…" Edge's eyes widened at Myuria's words and softened at the sight Arumat.

"Guess I'll have to thank him for that one later." Edge smiled. With that the team headed onwards to the sanctuary. Fervently protecting their friend who had never let them down when they needed him.

_____________________

Later on the team had met up with Meracle and Sarah and rushed through the sanctuary to face off against the latest "Grigori". It had taken them a few hours to get to the Sanctuary and by then Arumat had enough strength to wake up and fight and so he got to participate in said battle. With En II safe once more the team had returned to Centropolis while Myuria and Arumat returned to the Calnus. As soon as he had entered the ship, Arumat had eaten a small meal and headed for his room. After that no one saw him for a while.

Myuria began to worry. Only she was with him on the ship and she didn't even see his shadow. At random times the other crewmembers called at her through the ear-piece, which they had decided were too handy to stop using them, and asked about the Eldarian's condition, but she had to answer truthfully; she hadn't seen a single hair from the man's head. Finally she decided to enter the man's room and found him sleeping. Yet again.

She chuckled. "How many more times am I going to find you like this?" Of course she didn't expect him to answer. She moved to sit beside him and she stared at his peaceful face. The man was gorgeous. Besides his deathly pale skin, he looked perfect. Not that she minded the tone of his skin. But rather it reminded her of how close to death he was. It made her think about Lucien. How many people she loved would Death take with it? She didn't want to get hurt again. She looked at Arumat's sleeping for with warm eyes, and then saddened noticeably. Arumat was going to die. No matter what happened, no matter if they saved the universe or not… He would die. She didn't want to suffer again… And by the looks of the last kiss he'd given her, she was leading him on. So she decided to distance herself again. From him and from the whole group... any of them could end up dying. So she decided she would take care of the man that had saved her and as soon as he felt better, she would let go. And she did. Arumat slept for three days. Three days in which her resolve grew.

When she saw he was waking up for the first time she stood up, gave him one last kiss on the lips and left the room. But she wasn't fast enough, he was already awake enough to register it was her who kissed him and left. He sat up slowly and stared at the now closed door.

How many kisses had the woman stolen from him already? She seemed to have an affinity for doing so while he slept. He was pleasantly surprised that none of his muscles ached when he woke up, and for once he felt refreshed after sleeping. He had a slight suspicion of why that was. He would have to thank the Morphus once more. He climbed out of bed and buckled up his boots. He stretched his arms and back with a grimace at how numb he felt. Now he really worried about how long he had slept for. He walked out of his room.

______________

After a few minutes he finally came across Myuria, and found her staring off into space. On the couch she'd first stolen a kiss from him. He trudged towards her and sat down on the seat beside her. She quickly came back to her senses but she didn't do anything, didn't move away, didn't talk, didn't even look.

"How long have I been asleep for?" He glanced at her and saw her blank expression.

"Three days." He sighed heavily.

"Anything happen during that time?" He stared off to space as well.

"Nope." At her rather cold voice he looked at her reflection on the glass of the window to space, and noticed the sad look in her face. He had no idea what would put the usually warm and active woman in such a mood. He thought about what he had to do.

"Myuria…" At this she looked at his eyes through his own reflection on the glass and saw that his amber eyes were radiating warmth. "Thanks for helping me out back at the Road to the Sanctuary… and thanks again for looking after me while I was sleeping…"

Her resolve crashed. That warmth that seemed to welcome her…she had given it to him. How dare she destroy it? She couldn't. Her eyes welled up with tears and she started sobbing into her hands. This took Arumat by surprise. He had no idea what he had done this time. And he had even less of an idea of what to do in this situation. He placed one hand on her shoulder instinctively and squeezed her reassuringly. She threw herself on him, hugging his head to her shoulder and crying on his own shoulder. Arumat reluctantly hugged her waist and caressed her back, trying to console her. After what seemed like an eternity, her crying calmed down enough so that she could speak.

She sobbed quietly. "Arumat… please don't die… You can't die…" Her hold on him tightened. "Everyone on this ship loves you… please don't leave us… please don't leave me…"

He sighed and nuzzled her neck fondly. "That's something you know I can't promise…"

"Then promise me you'll at least try… Try to live…" She now held his face in her hands, staring intently into the amber orbs that were his eyes.

He closed his eyes in consideration, he never went back on a promise, and so he had to consider whether it was possible or not for him to comply it. He opened his eyes once more and he gently held Myuria's face as he wiped her tears. He smiled at her and couldn't help sinking into her sapphire eyes. He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips against her own and was delighted when she responded to the soft kiss. She suddenly growled at him and pulled his face away with both hands. "Don't avoid the topic…"

He chuckled at the furious look she gave him after having just succumbed to his kiss. He looked her in the eye. "I promise. I'll try and stay alive. But only after all this is over and everything is safe. Eldar won't rest in peace until I avenge her" She sighed at his determined look. Well something is something isn't it? She could only hope they could end the "Grirogri" business soon enough to keep him alive.

She hugged him again and he hugged her back, giving her a fond squeeze. She sighed happily in the man's strong arms. When had they both grown so warm towards each other? She sincerely didn't care, but she would enjoy it nonetheless. "Mmmm, Arumat?" She grinned silently.

He responded quietly. "Hmm?"

"Could you… rest your head on my lap?" He shrugged his shoulders and pulled away from her giving her his back, he rested both feet on the arm-rest on the other side and leaned back till he rested his head upon her lap. He rested one arm on his belly while the other dangled beside the couch. She smiled mischievously and he briefly worried if he should have complied with her wishes. She half-lidded her eyes and started combing his hair with her fingers gently, stopping to scratch and caress at his scalp from time to time.

The tender caring sent a tingly feeling down his spine and he allowed himself to smile happily as he closed his eyes and leaned his cheek against her tummy causing his breath to tickle her. She bubbled up with giggles and stopped her ministrations and he almost. ALMOST. whined. Guess it felt too good to last long. Myuria caught the disappointed look and giggled further. She hadn't felt so good for a long time. She looked down at him with the warmest smile and started scratching and massaging his scalp once more. He got a dreamy look to his eyes and if it wasn't for the fact that he had slept for three days in a row, he would've fallen asleep.

Myuria traced the scar on his face gently. It reminded them both of the tough life he had leaded. It made her feel like she had to protect him. Protect him from the destiny that constantly played him bad cards. She wondered if it really was bad luck that followed the man. She'd have to be careful. As far as she had heard anyone that got close to him died. She'd have to fight to stay alive. For his sake.

They stayed like that for the longest time until Myuria got tired and she leaned sideways between the couch and Arumat and pillowed her head with his bare stomach, lazily draping an arm over his chest. The moment had gotten far more intimate than any of the two had expected, but they found that, so long as no one came to the ship and caught them like this, they wouldn't mind. Myuria fell asleep on him and he kept a close watch on her and a very alert ear on the sounds of the Calnus.

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Yummy cotton candy fluff.


	6. Control

**A/N**: Wow no reviews. Guess I'll have to settle for the immense amount of readers :D I love you guys anyways. so. review... plz?

on with the show!

**Chapter 6 - Control**

Arumat was peacefully resting with Myuria on the couch when a quiet beep resounded in his ear. He reached for his ear-piece and spoke in the lowest voice he could muster. "Arumat here."

"Arumat! I'm so glad to hear you. You had us worried you know?" Arumat smiled and remembered Myuria's words. '_Everyone on this ship loves you'. _He caressed her hair fondly and she nuzzled his stomach drowsily. He blushed faintly and chuckled. 'She really shouldn't do that.'

"I'm fine. Sorry for the trouble." What he'd meant to say was sorry for causing them to worry. But he wasn't about to say that.

A little further away you could hear Meracle's faint voice, seemingly behind Edge. "What?! Arumat's finally awake?" It seemed Edge had nodded or something for you could hear a collective sigh of relief afterward. Arumat was surprised they had worried so much. He was out cold but he wasn't near death was he?

"We're really glad to have you back Arumat. We hope you're feeling better." Edge's voice seemed very relieved. The boy could carry the weight of the world with him.

"I told you, I'm fine. There's no need to worry." He kept on his usual façade of not caring much.

Behind Edge you could hear some really excited shouts. "We're gonna go visit Arumat!"

"W-wait! Lymle! Meracle!" Edge tried to call back the girls back but they weren't listening. He sighed. "Sorry to ask you this, Arumat. But, could you and Myuria watch over the girls for us?"

Arumat stared at the sleeping form beside him. He sighed. He wasn't any good with kids. But he wasn't about to wake the Morphus up, so he would give it a shot. "Myuria's asleep, but I'll do what I can in the time being." Edge was surprised to find a cooperative Arumat but he wasted no time accepting the offer. Lest he change his mind.

"Thanks a lot Arumat! And sorry for the trouble." Edge scratched his head sheepishly. Arumat just grunted his acceptance and communication was cut off.

Arumat hesitated a few seconds before he lazily rose up and scooped the sleeping woman up in his arms bridal style. She moaned a bit and snuggled against his chest as he carried her to her room and laid her in bed. This time he was careful to tuck her in properly and before he left to wait for the girls, he stared at the woman's peaceful face and uncertainly leaned down and stole a kiss from her lips.

________

Arumat waited outside for the youngest members of the gang. When they saw him they came running and tackled the man hard enough that he had to regain his footing. Lymle hugged his leg while Meracle hugged his waist. "Arumat! We're so glad you're okay!" Meracle mewed and looked up at him with her bright jade eyes.

"Yeah, we were so worried about you, Mattie…!" Lymle's monotonous voice always seemed to puzzle him.

He patted both girls' heads and smiled one of his usual smiles. "Like I said before, there's no need to worry about me."

"But we were so scared you'd die of hunger! You slept for so long, meow!" Arumat's stomach gave an excruciating and loud rumble. He held his stomach as it reminded him that as a living being, he was supposed to eat.

Meracle and Lymle looked at each other with wide eyes and then grinned. "Let's eat!" They shouted in unison and grabbed Arumat's hands and successfully pulled him into the Calnus.

________

The young girls weren't the best of cooks but they still had their touch. A table full of all kinds of foods and sweets sat before a famished Arumat.

"Bon Apettite! Meow!" Meracle quickly dug into a cheese cake while Lymle snacked on a pizza. The pizza was very hot and she burned her tongue.

"Mrrgh! I don't like this food… it hurts." Meracle shook her head.

"You're supposed to wait till its cooler, you know." Lymle looked at the offending pizza like it was her enemy. Meanwhile, it was taking all of Arumat's patience not to gobble down his food like a pig. The Eldarians were very prideful people to the very end after all. Anyone would catch him dead before they caught him pigging out. Common courtesy and table manners were things that were deeply etched into an Eldarian's soul.

A warm hand squeezed his shoulder as a kiss was gently pressed against his cheek. Myuria sat down beside him and yawned while stretching her arms. She stared at him, amused at how calmly he was eating despite the fact that he hadn't eaten in three days.

She chuckled lightly. "You know you want to wolf down all that food." He ignored her all knowing tone. She got a mischievous smile on her face and moved to take one drumstick from his plate, but she didn't get too far. As soon as her hand was an inch from his food, he caught her hand and glared at her. She laughed out loud. He sighed and continued to eat his food in silence. After he was done with his plate he sat back. Once again Myuria got a cocky grin on her face. "That's not all you're gonna eat, right?" He made no move to grab more food for himself so Myuria took it upon herself to fill his plate up again with potatoes and a juicy steak. "Hmm. Faize once told me that common Eldarian culture and etiquette states you should never leave any food on your plate. It wouldn't do for you to leave a plate full of food would it?" Arumat smiled and moved to eat again, his etiquette didn't say anything against eating food that people kindly offered you. After his second plate the man decided he was full enough and he stood up from the table in favor of wondering around the Calnus.

"Hey Arumat, I'm gonna need you later so stay where I can find you, okay?" The Morphus smiled at him warmly and he grunted his confirmation. When the young girls were done eating Myuria took them to bed and tucked them in. Afterward she went to the item creation room and asked Welch for a few recipes she wanted to try 'alone'.

"Hmm…strawberries dipped in chocolate…? Sounds like fun…" The woman couldn't hide her excitement as she melted half a pound of chocolate in a pot. She had bought some strawberries in the market and left them close to the pot. She quickly took her apron off and grabbed a small blindfold. She went to the storage room to see if Arumat would be in his usual spot and pouted when she found no one there. She ran around the Calnus for a few minutes, worried the chocolate would cool down and harden. She finally found the man in the ship's pilot room, staring off into space.

Myuria sneaked behind the dazed man and quickly blindfolded him. "What the-" Myuria planted a quick kiss on his lips to keep any possible profanities from slipping out. Arumat lifted the small cloth of his left eye with a thumb. She smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him off his seat and dragging him to the entrance of the item creation room. Once they were there, she pulled the blind fold back on its place. "And don't take that off until I say you can."

At this Arumat raised an eyebrow. "I'm not some dog you can put a muzzle on, you know."

"You'll enjoy thins, I promise." She gripped at his hands hopefully and he sighed, resigned.

Myuria took that sigh as a yes and proceeded to opening the door and dragging him inside. She sat him on one of the many chairs and brought a wheeled table with the pot of hot chocolate and strawberries on it. Myuria was feeling rather bold since she had successfully blindfolded a very dangerous man without much trouble, so she gingerly sat on his lap, wrapping and arm around his neck for support. Arumat's brow furrowed at not knowing what was going on, but he still held onto the woman on his lap to keep her from falling off. Myuria quickly grabbed a strawberry and dipped it in the bubbling chocolate. While waiting for the chocolate to dry on the fruit she asked "Arumat, do you trust me enough to do what I say? And don't try to be all solitary-macho with me." At the odd expression Arumat raised an eyebrow. He wouldn't lie. He trusted the woman, she had already done so much for him, but he still dreaded what was in store for him. The woman did have a rather mischievous side to her.

He sighed. "Yes, I do trust you."

"Okay then open up." She chuckled. He sweat dropped.

"What are-"

"Now, please." Myuria chuckled at how imprudent she was being.

He sighed for the millionth time and opened his mouth. Myuria put half of the strawberry into his mouth. "Bite." He did so and chewed the unknown provision carefully, then swallowed.

"…Well?" She looked at him expectantly.

He smiled at her. "Its pretty good. Though I've never tasted such a fruit."

" Hmm? Why's that." She grabbed a second strawberry.

"Eldar was too close to the sun to produce fruits that jui-" He was interrupted as Myuria kissed him gently. Their lips brushed against each other gently and he responded her. Myuria got even bolder and she slid her tongue over his bottom lip. Arumat groaned and opened his mouth to her. She used that chance to push the piece of strawberry she had in her mouth into his. Arumat pulled away and took off his blindfold, revealing a pink tint to his cheeks as he stared at the woman on his lap with wide disbelieving eyes. He didn't hesitate to swallow the offered fruit. 'How'd this woman manage to get under my skin in such a short time?'

Myuria smiled warmly at him and he moved his right arm to hold her back up, closer to him. His left hand tangled itself in her pink locks as he pushed her head towards him and he kissed her luscious lips with a new-found passion. Myuria slid her hands over his neck and cheeks, pressing his face closer to hers. He moaned into her mouth and she ended the kiss in favor of sitting up and moving her legs to straddle his waist. Arumat was quickly loosing grip of what was going on around him as he became nothing but moldingclay at the woman's will. Myuria brought her lips back down on his and this time she slid her tongue into his mouth to explore him, deepening the kiss and causing Arumat to groan into her mouth once again. She started playing with his silvery locks and scratching at his sensitive scalp.

Then a beeping sound resounded in her ear and she came back to reality. She parted lips with the entranced man and took off her ear-piece, letting it fall to the floor. She looked at Arumat's foggy eyes and felt a pang of guilt. She was ravaging the man. What would he think about her when he came back to his senses? She hugged him close to her and whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry I did this to you… I hope I didn't offend you… I'll stop taking advantage of you like this" She gave him one last peck on the lips and left him alone in the cold of the item creation room.

Arumat sat there for a few more minutes with a hazy look in his eyes before groaning and moving forward to plant his chin in the palm of his hand. "I hate cold showers…"

__________

Hah! Arumat made me 'lol'.

R&R


	7. Love

Phew... sorry for the long wait peeps. Lots of things going on over here, but my life's finally back on track. Wont keep you waiting any longer.

**Chapter 7: Love**

A very peeved Arumat sat alone in the item creation room. He lazily dipped another strawberry into the hardening chocolate. 'Would be a waste to let these spoil.' He waited a few seconds for the sweet liquid to dry over the berry and he plopped it into his mouth, chewing silently. 'Why'd she have to go and do that…?' He scowled at the innocent bowl of berries.

A loud squeal interrupted his train of thought. "OOOOOH! Auntie Welch saw it all!" Arumat's eyes widened and he stood up at the sight of the lunatic woman know as Welch. His day couldn't get better. He 'tsked' and move to leave the room. "Hey wait!"

Arumat growled deep in his chest. "What? You're going to blackmail me into doing something for you?"

Welch gasped, outraged. "Why I would never! I'm offended that you would even think something like that!" Arumat continued to glare at her. She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for eavesdropping but I couldn't help it! Let me help you in apology." Arumat continued to glare at her and Welch sighed. "Myuria's obviously misunderstanding something here, kay? You need to do something about it! Not just sit here and eat strawberries!" She pointed menacingly at the fighter with her hand-club.

Arumat's frustration grew by the second. Not only had he gotten caught up in the moment and had been left for seemingly no reason, but he had also been spied on. He couldn't wait to see when she would tell the whole crew what had happened. The last thing he needed was all arms on the Calnus nagging him eternally about it.

"How could I possibly know what's going on in that woman's mind?" A headache started to brew in the man's temples.

"Then why don't you just ask her? Wait, didn't she tell you something before she left?" Arumat thought back, through the heavy fog his mind had been covered in and the blood-rush that had roared through his ears he had barely managed to hear her words.

"_I'm sorry I did this to you… I hope I didn't offend you… I'll stop taking advantage of you like this"_

She was sorry? Why? He'd had felt nothing but amazing in those moments. Sure it rather aggravated him to be so weak as to fall prey to her. But he had to admit he felt nothing but bliss during the moments themselves.

He turned to leave the room; he needed to talk to her. "Arumat!" He spared a glance to the item creation specialist. "I'm sorry I butted into your business, I couldn't help wanting to help a friend." She smiled. "I won't tell a soul, so don't worry about it, alright?"

He turned around for a few seconds and grunted. "…Thanks." Welch smiled.

"No, prob. See ya later kid." Welch's hologram faded as she waved goodbye.

'Kid, huh?' Arumat mussed at the thought of being called a kid by someone who hardly met his age.

__________________

Arumat trudged his way to Myuria's room and when he was in front of her door he thought about what he would say. And he came up with nothing. 'Well I could improvise.' He thought lightly and with that he barged into the room.

Myuria jumped at the sudden intrusion. She had been staring off into space. She looked at him and gave him a sad smile and remained quiet. Arumat looked away and mindlessly cracked the joints of his fingers. She smiled at what she had come to recognize as a sign of anxiety.

He sighed and moved to sit beside her on her bed. After a few more minutes of awkward silence he looked at her with eyes full of emotion that didnt reflect on his face and only she was capable of reading. "You didn't offend me…" At this her eyes lit up and she sighed in relief. He smiled warmly at her and his cheeks tinted a bit with pink. He looked away. "I don't mind… any of the things you do… I know that's just the way you are… And I enjoy it." He hated being mushy. He wasn't a mushy man. Myuria understood this better than anyone. The man was a calm, collected and level-headed fighter. Any feelings outside of the pleasure of battle, pride and camaraderie were probably seen as a weakness. And in a sense he was right. He had already electrocuted himself in order to protect her. But the fact was he couldn't go back on what he felt. He'd already protected her with his life once and he wouldn't stop now.

Myuria leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sorry if I worried you back there…" Arumat moved his arm to encircle her waist and leaned his head against hers.

"Likewise…" She smiled at his response and grabbed at the front of his jacket. She leaned back onto her bed and dragged him down with her. He now lay on top of her and she smiled warmly, a light pink blush gracing her cheeks. He felt that she had given him control for once and didn't waste any time to start using it. He straddled her hips with his legs as he slid his hands behind her shoulders. She slid her own hands up his arms and rested them on both his shoulders. She gave them a light squeeze to push him onward and he leaned down to capture her lips once again. He never got tired of their sweet taste and the tingling it sent down his spine. She was bending to his will for once. She followed everything he did. And he loved it. He entangled his fingers with her long hair and pushed her head up towards him to deepen the kiss. His tongue lapped lightly at her succulent lips and made her this Arumat took his chance and slid his tongue inside her mouth, exploring the crevices of her sweet mouth.

Myuria was in heaven and after what seemed like forever they both had to part for air. Arumat laid kisses all over her neck and was delighted to hear her moan at this. He tried his luck and bit down gently on the skin of her neck, suckling at it softly. She gasped and he grinned. "Arumat…!" She'd have to wear a scarf for a good while.

Myuria removed her leather gloves from her hands in favor caressing the man's strong chest. Arumat sucked in air as she tenderly teased the skin of his abdomen. She traced the scars that crossed his belly and upper chest and she leaned up to kiss the one on his abdomen lovingly.

His body started to beg him to go further but he had to regain his control. He sighed and leaned off to the side, plopping down beside her. She whined at the sudden loss of contact and turned to him, kissing and nipping at his neck. He bit down on his lip. She didn't make things easy sometimes. He kissed her forehead to gain her attention and when she finally looked up at him he leaned his forehead on hers. His eyes were alive and full of fire and she smiled at the warmth that came from them. She understood. If he went any further he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop. She brushed her lips with his in a sweet, quick kiss and they lay there together, just staring at each other's eyes.

Myuria chuckled lightly and grinned at him. "Guess I fell in love." Arumat's eyes usually hard eyes softened further at her casual confession and he smiled at her.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, imprinting the memory in his mind and he opened them again. "As did I…" She laughed lightly. She knew that would be the best one she'd get from him. But she didn't need to hear anymore. His actions spoke louder than words ever could. From here on out she just needed to feel.

The love that radiated from every fiber of his being.

Myuria stared at the pleasantly relaxed man and kissed his forehead softly, fondling his ears lovingly. "Arumat…?"

"Mhmm…?" The Eldarian was busy enjoying the sweet ministrations she was giving him.

"I'll find a cure… once this mess is over. I'll find a cure that doesn't involve you losing your body." She now held his face, thumbs caressing his cheeks.

He looked at her dead in the eye. "…That's one big promise you know…You think you'll be able to keep it?"

She looked away. "I'll do anything I have to. I'm not letting you down." She smiled with hope in her eyes.

Arumat chuckled. He had given up so long ago. Yet this woman, without having any hint whatsoever of what she could do, was promising she would save him, as if it was nothing. But that's all he needed. Someone that said it would be alright and nothing would happen. He smiled, a bright light having been rekindled in his eyes. "Then I won't lose hope until that time."

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I tried my best not to be cliché. I hope I was successful. :s Oh and hope it wasn't too strong for some readers *grin* ahhhh love is so sweet and spicy.

A sequel of this will come. It'll be Myuria's and Arumat's quest for a cure of course. And some interesting heroes will be helping them out, though hardly willingly.

Thank you so much for reading and to the few that reviewed! Double the thanX! please review if you want the sequel ^.^


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